Fiat Lux

Choir	3 June
Angels to call upon in every need	St Clothilde

The holy angels are the mediators between God and man. They stand above man and below God. With the greatest clarity possible to a creature, they reflect down upon the earth the Love of God, the Power of God and the Life of God in His holiness and wisdom, in His omnipotence and justice. But they also reflect the answer of creation—the love, the power and the life of mankind, above all of the Bride of Christ on earth, the Holy Church—with the same great clarity, up before the eyes of the Holy, Strong, Immortal God. In this position and task of theirs, they unite the Church Militant on earth with the Church Triumphant in Heaven around the Throne of God, in all the events of the passing of time.

For the needs of struggling mankind, therefore, there are not only fourteen Holy Helpers among the saints (who today have been almost entirely forgotten), but also fourteen Helpers in need among the holy angels. It is good to get to know them better, for their help in these times will be necessary and fruitful.

The Fourteen Heavenly Helpers are taken from the wreath of the holy angels, just as the Fourteen Holy Helpers come from the wreath of the saints. They stand in two groups of seven, and in their midst is the Queen of Heaven, the Help of Christians, the Mother of Mercy, Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Each of them shall be named here, with a description and a prayer:

Saint Mirachiel, the Angel of the Virtue of Faith. He stands upon the earth; he is not far from men. Above all, those who are incorporated into the Corpus Christi Mysticum as converts stand under his special care. His task before the Lord is to bear the strength of faith.

He should be invoked against doubts of faith, in danger of falling away from the faith, against the darkening of faith, and against the blurring and veiling of faith through temptation and bad surroundings.

Prayer: Holy Angel, Saint Mirachiel, who hast been given to us by God as a help in all the needs of faith, help us out of our pathlessness, out of these grave doubts of faith. We can no longer see our Lord and God, nor the way. Set the light of knowledge on our path once more; give us the strength to rise again and, in blind faith, to adore God and keep faith with Him. Help us in our need, great, holy Angel of the strength of faith! We will make thy help known to others and so promote the veneration of the holy angels. Amen.

Saint Mirachiel’s day · 1 October →

Saint Ariguel, the Angel of Mercy. He is from the Choir of the Dominions of High Power. He is an angel of love and of homecoming, of motherly help and of consolation. In his task, on his right hand stands that angel who wears the veil of Mary, and on his left that kindly angel who calls himself the “Footstool of God” (Saint Azariel and Saint Gerudiel). Saint Ariguel bears holy charity as his task before the Lord.

He should be invoked by refugees and those without a homeland, by the unemployed and the homeless, by the disenfranchised and the oppressed, by the lonely and the abandoned, by widows and orphans; missing loved ones should be commended to him.

Prayer: O helpful and kindly Angel, Saint Ariguel, to whom God has entrusted our need, look upon us as we kneel here! Beg God with all thy strength to be merciful to us, to take this cross from us or at least to lighten it, so that we do not break beneath it. In thy goodness, show us the door of our heavenly Father’s house, where all need comes to an end. Give us the strength to walk the way of the Cross for as long as God wills, as God wills and wherever God wills. Pray the Sanctus for us when our lips dry up, so that at least our heart may stay alive. Slide the Footstool of God beneath our weary feet and let us be covered by the veil of Mary. Amen.

Saint Ariguel’s day · 3 February

Saint Diurim, the Angel of the Power of the Divine Will. He thrusts down from Heaven with the whole force of the Divine Will, and he stands upon the earth to support the Cross, which rises from earth to Heaven as folly to the world and as peace and bliss to the children of God. He is incorruptible and unassailable; he does not let the Will of God be bent. But with the whole strength of love at his disposal he teaches us to love this Will of God: that it is the highest happiness for us, as for the angels, to be allowed to fulfil it, so that the fiat mihi becomes a matter of course, a duty of love.

He should be invoked against all self-will, against obstinacy, against every will bent away from God—dictated not by God but by one’s own ego and fathered by Belial, the idol of the self—against heresies, obsessions and extravagant notions that refuse to see their error, and against pride and disobedience.

Prayer: Mighty Angel, Saint Diurim, who lookest as though thou didst set up and support the Cross not in folly but in the certainty of victory, teach us this certainty and conviction: that the Will of God alone is the measure of all our thinking and acting. Give us a clear conviction of God’s absolute sovereignty over us. Give us the humility to bow even to the inscrutable decrees of God and to fulfil the Divine Will completely—without grumbling, without defiance, without conditions. Give us that love of Mary which spoke the fiat mihi before us, and yet prayed the Magnificat knowing the Cross that was to come. Do not let us be lost, great Angel; rather do us violence, for it is better to be bent by the Will of God now than, unbent, to fall prey to the torments of damnation. Amen.

Saint Diurim’s day · 17 November

Saint Ezechiel. He is from the Choir of Princes. It is a divine good that he administers: living life in stability and evenness, in the tenacious struggle for the divine inheritance in man; for he is the Angel of Faithfulness and does not yield a step from the place God has assigned him. As his task and symbol he bears the one denarius (for only one thing is necessary: God). The angel’s name means “God makes strong.”

He should be invoked against fickleness, against instability and weakness of will, against susceptibility to seduction, and against too weak a resistance to evil and its whisperings.

Prayer: Great brother, Saint Ezechiel, thou support in all the wavering that tosses me to and fro like a reed in the storm, I beg thee, do not let me go. I am like a house with every window open, through which the storm of evil can blow when and as it pleases. Close my windows—the sensitive ears, the curious eyes, the thoughtless tongue, the self-centred heart. Set thine angels before them: the angels of unshakeable faithfulness, of deep and steady love, of the tenacious and humble will to bow myself always, and as low as I can. Give me the grace, at thy hand, always to accept the harder way and the greater sacrifice, and never to waver. Amen.

Saint Ezechiel’s day · 2 October →

Saint Thaamim, the Angel of the Power of complete zeal for God and His honour, is the angel of the answer to God’s jealous struggle for every single soul. Into every soul that gives itself wholly to God he sinks the burning arrow of zeal for the honour and the Love of God. The souls wounded by his arrow he carries, in the force of the power of the Word, again and again into the battlefield for God. It is his task to keep souls always burning.

He should be invoked against lukewarmness and indifference—above all among priests, in monasteries, parishes and Church offices—against the dulling of the soul, and against all levelling down.

Prayer: Restless, glorious Angel, Saint Thaamim, with the bundle of lightning bolts in thy hand! Thine arrows burn wounds of longing for God that never close again. Take the dullness from our soul, this comfortable “live and let live,” this “leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone!” It is not all the same what we do and how we do it. Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing slips under the table that the angels will not one day hold up before us in public. Burn us, holy Angel, so that we may be driven on like stubborn donkeys. Strike us and push us, so that we reach the goal God has set us and may stand firm before the Judgement. Amen.

Saint Thaamim’s day · 2 August →

Saint Samaliel. He is from the Choir of Cherubim and, among the Fourteen Heavenly Helpers, the one of highest rank. He alone, of all the three highest choirs, is turned wholly towards the need of mankind. He is the one who prays and intercedes.

Beneath the stream of his power of intercession stands that angel (Saint Aljoim) who is appointed by God to tread the seed-corn (the soul) into the soil, so that it may bear fruit for eternity.

He should be invoked in all desperate causes.

Prayer: Lord and God, let us be helped through the intercession of Thy holy Angel, Saint Samaliel. With veiled face he lifts up to Thee, O God, Thy Precious Blood. With his hand he points to Mary, the suppliant omnipotence, the Mediatrix of all graces. He lays our heart, which is close to despair, in Thy wounded Side, Lord Jesus, that Thou mayest heal it, saying: “Thy faith has helped thee; be it done as thou hast asked” (cf. Matt. 15:28). Lord, Thou hast surely not given us so great an Angel as our intercessor in vain! Help us for his sake, for Mary’s sake, for the sake of Thy Precious Blood! Amen.

Saint Samaliel’s day · 27 June

Saint Hajim. He is the angel of the Virtue of the Holy Church and knocks at the hearts of men to awaken them for God. He is the Angel of Conscience and the angel of the inner life of the Holy Church. It is his task to keep the hearts of men always warm and alive.

He should be invoked against all hard-heartedness and lovelessness, against all coldness of heart and the withholding of wages, of justice and of love, and against mistrust, slander, detraction, falseness and lies.

Prayer: O holy Angel, Saint Hajim, how often we feel thee knocking at our heart and pay thee no heed. How many sins against love we commit ourselves, and yet we rise up in protest when for once an injustice is done to us. O give us a heart like the Heart of our Mother Mary, which suffers all things out of love, forgives all things out of love, keeps silent when wronged, prays for its enemies, sets others glowing and burning in the fire of its love for God, finds its sufficiency and its happiness in the love of God alone, and so remains alive for eternity. Amen.

Saint Hajim’s day · 28 May

Saint Nithasiel. He is an angel of the Ninth Choir, assigned to the service of Mary, the Mother of Fair Love. He is like a brother to men. He stands closest to them and understands them, for he is the Angel of Friendship, the never-tiring helper in hidden and tender care.

He should be invoked against enmities and divisions, hatred and vindictiveness, threats and insults, envy, avarice and malice. He should be asked to heal broken bonds of friendship and love.

Prayer: O kind and loving Friend, Saint Nithasiel, who in love dost spread Mary’s mantle over us, let us remain sheltered under Mary’s protection from all enmity and vindictiveness. Ward off the Evil One, who seeks to ensnare and destroy us by a thousand means. Close our senses to the filth of all sin, and let us not miss the straight way through Mary to Jesus, through Jesus to Mary. Only one thing should we fear: the judgement of God. Only one friendship should we make sure of: the friendship of God. Thou envoy of God, be our helper, friend and guide to this end. Amen.

Saint Sinah. He is an angel of the Ninth Choir, assigned to Saint Zephiriel, the Virtue of the sober clear-sightedness of love in the Choir of Virtues. He is the Angel of Clarity and very close to man. He supports him in a special way against all secret urges, all sensual temptations and afflictions of body and soul.

He should be invoked against all sins of the secret urges, against everything lustful, sensual, coquettish, lewd and seductive, against all unbridled imagination, against weakness of will in the face of pleasure, and against all confusion and hysteria.

Prayer: How urgently we need thy help, Saint Sinah, thou support of our weakness! Never shall we be able by ourselves to pull from our flesh the thorn of secret, instinctive impulses. Never shall we remain free from the filth of sensual assaults in word and picture and print. Help us to clarity and purity, holy Angel of God, so that the fetters of the beast within us are never loosed and it never throws its filth over us. Let us recognise the sober Love of God and live by it alone. Help us to be pure children before God; then all is well. Amen.

Saint Sinah’s day · 23 December

Saint Manuel. He belongs to the Sixth Choir and is one of the “Silent Princes,” who serve Holy Mother Church on earth in secret. He is the Angel of Readiness as a Servant and stands wherever sudden attacks of the Evil One are to be expected. He wards off the treacherous assaults and catastrophes intended against the Holy Church or members of the Church.

He should therefore be invoked in dangerous undertakings and in threatening danger, in sudden attacks, in unsafe places, on dark roads, and against the approach of sinister people.

Prayer: Holy, great Angel, Saint Manuel, who with thy great shield dost ward off the force of all treacherous attacks and with thy bright sword dost beat back every hostile blow, take us under thy protection, for the Evil One goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8). Not a day or an hour are we safe from his malice. Stand before us to make our way safe; hold thy shield over us and let us, sheltered in thy protection, O Angel of Mary, reach our heavenly Father’s house. Amen.

Saint Manuel’s day · 15 July →

Saint Scheadar. He belongs to the Choir of the Sealed Princes. When his seal is loosed, the last day of harvest will come. He calls himself “He who carries on his shoulder,” for he is an angel of the harvest, material as well as spiritual. He carries home the sheaf of the harvest, and he also carries the stray sheep, once found again, back into the sheepfold.

He should be invoked against poor growth and stunting, against dry and marshy soil, against weeds, drought, rot and mishaps—in relation to agriculture, but first and foremost to the growth and ripening of the soul as seed and fruit for eternity.

Prayer: Great Prince of Heaven, Saint Scheadar, who art appointed not only as administrator of all acres and fields but also to watch over that harvest which is destined for the heavenly barn, keep the evil enemy far from us, who sows disaster in the night and darkness when we are not even aware of it. Give us the strength to pull out the weeds of habitual sins and faults of character from our heart too, so that they do not overgrow and choke the little good we would like to show. Bring us back when we say, “It’s no use anyway!” and want to shirk. Go after us and carry us home. Amen.

Saint Scheadar’s day · 7 October

Saint Raphael. Next to Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel, he is the Archangel most familiar to men. His name means “Medicine of God.” He is the Angel of Love and the patron of doctors and travellers; he is the angel of separation and decision. As his symbol he carries the horn against demonic attacks.

He should be invoked in important decisions, on journeys and in operations, against the dangers of water and accidents when travelling, against wrong decisions and imprisonment, against abduction, against poisonous food and medicines, and in all need and every cross in love.

Prayer: Holy Archangel, Saint Raphael, caring guardian of our wanderings, give us the clear sight always to speak the truth and to set right all false judgements in love. Let us always keep the Love of God before our eyes as our only guiding line, and always decide according to the Will of God. Help to heal the sick, to free the captives, and to bring the abducted home to their families. Help us also to bury the dead in love and to remember them in faithfulness. Let us be so filled with the Love of God that we live only for it and die in it. Amen.

Saint Raphael’s day · 24 October

Saint Bilael (Berael). He is one of the Silent Princes, who are not in the habit of giving their names and who work in silence and in secret. He has great work to do on this earth, and like himself, most of his work and the greater part of his successful help remain completely hidden. His task is to bring God’s courage to confess and fortitude, at the decisive moment, to those who have been opened to God by grace.

He should be invoked against cowardice and human respect, against fraud, the chasing of advantage and false persuasion, against corruption and racketeering, against shady dealings and earthly gain, and against godlessness and harassment by the Evil One.

Prayer: How low we must cast down our eyes when we think of our courage to confess the faith—that even in everyday life we are too cowardly to greet the Lord in the Tabernacle when we pass a church! But then, when we languish in chains, we call to thee, Saint Bilael, Angel of the courage to confess. See our weakness, our lack of character! We beg thee: take it from us and make us strong, so that we do honour to the name “Catholic.” Stand by us when we must stand bravely and faithfully by God and His Commandments, and show us the heavenly crown of victory, the gate of Heaven that will receive us. Give us the grace always to confess God, and rather to suffer than to deny the truth for the sake of some advantage. Amen.

Saint Berael’s day · 20 September →

Saint Berubiel. He is from the Ninth Choir, the Choir of Angels, and is our faithful friend. He is the Angel of Poverty and is assigned to the Archangel Saint Michael. He carries Saint Michael’s task, “Who is like God?”, right up close to men. He struggles for every human soul, that it may break free, and lifts it up to the Simple Essence of God.

He should be invoked against all complication, fragmentation, distraction and superficiality, against complexes, restlessness, ambition, conceit, avarice and riches.

Prayer: Kindly Angel of the Simple Essence of God, Saint Berubiel, how simple thou lookest, and how hard thy gifts are to put to use! Everything in us resists thee: we want to glitter like many-faceted crystals, we want to count for something, we want to have read and seen and done everything, and in doing so we forget simple being before the Face of God. Teach us to see poverty of spirit in its true light. Give us the grace to implore the Simple Essence of God and to want nothing but God alone. Amen.

• Saint Pachad (W)
• Saint Manuel
• Saint Orphar
• Prayer to the Nine Choirs of Holy Angels
• Introduction